Returns to doctoral education in Finland

Lauro Carnicelli () and Tuomo Suhonen ()

No 117, Studies from Työn ja talouden tutkimus LABORE, Labour Institute for Economic Research LABORE

Abstract: This report examines the evolution of the economic status and role of PhD holders in Finland’s labor market and firms using Statistics Finland’s register and survey data. Special attention is paid to PhD graduates in the business, ICT, and engineering fields. The findings indicate a very tight labor market for PhD holders until the late 2000s, followed by rising unemployment and overeducation among them, as well as a stagnating wage premium for completing a PhD, in the 2010s. While PhDs have earned more than master’s and bachelor’s graduates on average, the PhD wage premium is found to be much higher for women than for men and to vary across fields of study. The firm-level analyses show no significant changes in productivity or profitability around the event of hiring the first PhD in a firm, whereas a higher share of PhD workers is found to be associated with increased wages and productivity. The results also provide suggestive evidence of PhDs, particularly those in the business, ICT, and engineering fields, playing a role in business-university collaboration.

Keywords: Higher education; Doctorate; Human capital; Labor markets; Wages; Firms; Research and development; Productivity; Business-university collaboration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I23 I26 J24 J31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 44 pages
Date: 2025-09-03
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